2022 was another great year for cyberpunk RPGs with multiple crowdfunding successes including one for over a million dollars, many traditional releases, some corpo news, and many cyberpunk sessions played. There were the new releases using The Interlock System (Cyberpunk RED) and Shadowrun Sixth Edition as well as products using engines like Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, Year Zero Engine, Forged in the Dark, Modern AGE, Powered by the Apocalypse, and more. In this three-part series, I’ll look back on one of the most important categories for RPGs in 2022: Cyberpunk. I’ll open with an unprecedented year of cyberpunk RPG crowdfunding.
Sticking with Free League, they fulfilled their wildly popular CY_BORG Core Rules this year after a Kickstarter that ended on December 1, 2021 with 6,866 backers pledged SEK4,144,283. Before arriving in print, CY_BORG had already inspired 10 additional Kickstarters from third party creators like Phillip Reed and Christian Eichhorn. Rob Wieland did a review of the core game, and, if you didn’t get a copy of the game, his review is worth checking out because this RPG is likely to be a force within the cyberpunk tabletop RPG community just as MÖRK BORG is on the fantasy side of the gaming table.
While Blade Runner is the Year Zero Engine and CY_BORG uses the MÖRK BORG system, there is always demand for projects powered by Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. As the undisputed most popular RPG system in gaming, there’s always a request for more properties and genres to be adapted for 5e. For those fans, there’s Everyday Heroes: The Roleplaying Game from Evil Genius Productions (4,215 backers pledged $395,552) and their officially licensed supplement for Escape from New York. John Carpenter’s Snake Plissken embodies the punk attitude prevalent in the cyberpunk genre. It’s exciting to see any of Carpenter’s world brought to tabletop, especially his cyberpunk vision. I did an interview with Dave Scott during the Kickstarter and I’m looking forward to Evil Genius’ 5e take on Snake’s world.
Let’s look at another project, Altered Carbon: The Role Playing Game from Hunters Entertainment (Electrum best-seller on DriveThruRPG and 3,940 backers pledged $372,547 on Kickstarter in March, 2020). Unlike the Netflix series the RPG is based on (the creators tried to focus on the streaming series over the source novels), there’s new tabletop content for the canceled Altered Carbon series. 2022 saw the release of two sourcebooks for general purchase (Bay City Confidential and the alternate Dataslate Edition) as well as additional backer material with three city settings: Birmingham, Johannesburg, and Osaka. If you were a fan of the series, these books let you continue or craft your own stories with your gaming crew.
From the anime/Ghost in the Shell side of cyberpunk, there’s Son of Oak Game Studio's homage to those great Japanese cyberpunk stories, TOKYO : OTHERSCAPE - A Mythic Cyberpunk RPG (3,196 backers pledged $274,800). This RPG builds on their City of Mist engine and concepts, but bent towards an anime cyberpunk feel. While most of the RPGs here hue towards the western vision of cyberpunk, it’s good to take a look at the other major line of inspiration and see new content to support it.
A little further afield is the indigipunk (or hopepunk or solarpunk) RPG, Coyote & Crow (16,269 backers pledged $1,073,453 in March, 2021 and the core rulebook is a Gold best-seller on DriveThruRPG). While not specifically cyberpunk, there is a lot of punk in this game’s existance. In 2022, they crowdfunded the first adventures Coyote & Crow supplements and adventures. Coyote & Crow: Stories of the Free Lands did well on Backerkit ($172,960 raised from 2,417 backers). Before the campaign, I talked to Connor Alexander about this project and how it represents indigipunk.
Shield Maidens: A New Viking/Cyberpunk Tabletop RPG from Mongoose Publishing (819 backers pledged £58,927). This project is unique, built around the idea of melding vikings and cyberpunk to make something wholly original, something that sounds complex but boils down to you playing as a mystical shield maiden battling an oppressive sci-fi empire, so go mess’em up! I’m eager to see this one at a gaming table.
CBR+PNK: Augmented from The Cabinet of Curiosities (2,059 backers pledged $52,558). Named one of the best RPGs of 2021 by Polygon, this was the most influential RPG of 2022 on me, a topic I’ve written about here and here. A full Forged in the Dark cyberpunk RPG expressed in two pamphlets/brochures (in its original incarnation) and eight pamphlets (in the new edition). Emanoel Melo, the game’s creator, manages to compress his ideas and maximize his printed real estate. It’s an excellent cyberpunk RPG and well worth the praise its received.
GeneFunk 2090: Dark Forest from CRISPR Monkey Studios reached 500 backers who pledged CA$34,159. That’s made even better when compared to its core rulebook which managed 931 backers that pledged CA$38,694 in May, 2019 (it’s a Platinum best-seller on DriveThruRPG), nearly the same, dollar wise. This Kickstarter brings a new adventure and setting for GeneFunk 2090 and continues to expand the game’s setting with a focus outside of the United States (Shadows of Korea and, with this book, a Peruvian jungle valley).
Montréapolis : a cyberpunk TTRPG from Mathieu Atallah Publishing (138 backers pledged CA$3,304). Set in Montréal in 2099, this RPG promises a Canadian twist to North American cyberpunk. If you’re interested, it’s offered as a free demo (made to support the Kickstarter of the full game). Montréapolis presents a small press take on cyberpunk.
In 2020, I talked to Robert Bohl of Misspent Youth when he decided to exit from tabletop RPGs. He left his property, the aforementioned Misspent Youth, with Fragging Unicorn Games and in 2022, they brought Misspent Youth back with Misspent Youth: Fall in Love, Not in Line (349 backers pledged $16,414). Edging around cyberpunk, this project builds on the work that Robert Bohl started.
CAPER Cyber from NerdBurger Games is being developed as a Patreon. CAPERS (786 backers pledged $21,664 across two core rulebook campaigns and those core rules are a Gold best-seller on DriveThruRPG) is Craig Campbell’s award-winning RPG of superpowered gangsters during prohibition. Craig expanded the core rules with new ideas such as super spies in the 1960s, retro-future sci-fi, and more. CAPER Cyber will take CAPERS into the realm of neon and chrome, giving his system rules for hacking, cyberware, and everything else you’ll need while wearing mirrored shades. If you want to support and read the project as it’s happening, this CAPER Cyber is worthwhile.
2022: The Year’s Cyberpunk Tabletop RPG Downloads Article Series:
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.
BIG EURODOLLAR CYBERPUNK CROWDFUNDING
Crowdfunding gives a sense of the popularity of tabletop roleplaying games, showing the number of backers and dollars raised. While the dominant genre in tabletop RPG is fantasy, cyberpunk is no slouch in the crowdfundraising category. 2022 was a good year for cyberpunk crowdfunding with games featuring the chrome/neon future reaching staggering heights. Those heights start with Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game from Free League Publishing, based on the iconic Ridley Scott movie and set before the Denis Villeneuve sequel, has begun fulfilling to its 15,323 backers. Those backers pledged SEK16,513,148, which is more than enough SEKs to put this project into the million dollar Kickstarter club. Blade Runner is one of the most iconic cyberpunk properties, a movie that shaped the sci-fi noir elements of cyberpunk. If you’re curious how this RPG plays, EN World’s Rob Wieland has a review of the rules and setting available here.Sticking with Free League, they fulfilled their wildly popular CY_BORG Core Rules this year after a Kickstarter that ended on December 1, 2021 with 6,866 backers pledged SEK4,144,283. Before arriving in print, CY_BORG had already inspired 10 additional Kickstarters from third party creators like Phillip Reed and Christian Eichhorn. Rob Wieland did a review of the core game, and, if you didn’t get a copy of the game, his review is worth checking out because this RPG is likely to be a force within the cyberpunk tabletop RPG community just as MÖRK BORG is on the fantasy side of the gaming table.
While Blade Runner is the Year Zero Engine and CY_BORG uses the MÖRK BORG system, there is always demand for projects powered by Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. As the undisputed most popular RPG system in gaming, there’s always a request for more properties and genres to be adapted for 5e. For those fans, there’s Everyday Heroes: The Roleplaying Game from Evil Genius Productions (4,215 backers pledged $395,552) and their officially licensed supplement for Escape from New York. John Carpenter’s Snake Plissken embodies the punk attitude prevalent in the cyberpunk genre. It’s exciting to see any of Carpenter’s world brought to tabletop, especially his cyberpunk vision. I did an interview with Dave Scott during the Kickstarter and I’m looking forward to Evil Genius’ 5e take on Snake’s world.
Let’s look at another project, Altered Carbon: The Role Playing Game from Hunters Entertainment (Electrum best-seller on DriveThruRPG and 3,940 backers pledged $372,547 on Kickstarter in March, 2020). Unlike the Netflix series the RPG is based on (the creators tried to focus on the streaming series over the source novels), there’s new tabletop content for the canceled Altered Carbon series. 2022 saw the release of two sourcebooks for general purchase (Bay City Confidential and the alternate Dataslate Edition) as well as additional backer material with three city settings: Birmingham, Johannesburg, and Osaka. If you were a fan of the series, these books let you continue or craft your own stories with your gaming crew.
From the anime/Ghost in the Shell side of cyberpunk, there’s Son of Oak Game Studio's homage to those great Japanese cyberpunk stories, TOKYO : OTHERSCAPE - A Mythic Cyberpunk RPG (3,196 backers pledged $274,800). This RPG builds on their City of Mist engine and concepts, but bent towards an anime cyberpunk feel. While most of the RPGs here hue towards the western vision of cyberpunk, it’s good to take a look at the other major line of inspiration and see new content to support it.
A little further afield is the indigipunk (or hopepunk or solarpunk) RPG, Coyote & Crow (16,269 backers pledged $1,073,453 in March, 2021 and the core rulebook is a Gold best-seller on DriveThruRPG). While not specifically cyberpunk, there is a lot of punk in this game’s existance. In 2022, they crowdfunded the first adventures Coyote & Crow supplements and adventures. Coyote & Crow: Stories of the Free Lands did well on Backerkit ($172,960 raised from 2,417 backers). Before the campaign, I talked to Connor Alexander about this project and how it represents indigipunk.
THE NEXT TIER OF CYBERPUNK CROWDFUNDERS
Beyond the six- and seven-figure crowdfundings with thousands of backers are a number of mid-tier cyberpunk RPGs that have their own fanbases. These projects promise some interesting options for your gaming table.Shield Maidens: A New Viking/Cyberpunk Tabletop RPG from Mongoose Publishing (819 backers pledged £58,927). This project is unique, built around the idea of melding vikings and cyberpunk to make something wholly original, something that sounds complex but boils down to you playing as a mystical shield maiden battling an oppressive sci-fi empire, so go mess’em up! I’m eager to see this one at a gaming table.
CBR+PNK: Augmented from The Cabinet of Curiosities (2,059 backers pledged $52,558). Named one of the best RPGs of 2021 by Polygon, this was the most influential RPG of 2022 on me, a topic I’ve written about here and here. A full Forged in the Dark cyberpunk RPG expressed in two pamphlets/brochures (in its original incarnation) and eight pamphlets (in the new edition). Emanoel Melo, the game’s creator, manages to compress his ideas and maximize his printed real estate. It’s an excellent cyberpunk RPG and well worth the praise its received.
GeneFunk 2090: Dark Forest from CRISPR Monkey Studios reached 500 backers who pledged CA$34,159. That’s made even better when compared to its core rulebook which managed 931 backers that pledged CA$38,694 in May, 2019 (it’s a Platinum best-seller on DriveThruRPG), nearly the same, dollar wise. This Kickstarter brings a new adventure and setting for GeneFunk 2090 and continues to expand the game’s setting with a focus outside of the United States (Shadows of Korea and, with this book, a Peruvian jungle valley).
Montréapolis : a cyberpunk TTRPG from Mathieu Atallah Publishing (138 backers pledged CA$3,304). Set in Montréal in 2099, this RPG promises a Canadian twist to North American cyberpunk. If you’re interested, it’s offered as a free demo (made to support the Kickstarter of the full game). Montréapolis presents a small press take on cyberpunk.
In 2020, I talked to Robert Bohl of Misspent Youth when he decided to exit from tabletop RPGs. He left his property, the aforementioned Misspent Youth, with Fragging Unicorn Games and in 2022, they brought Misspent Youth back with Misspent Youth: Fall in Love, Not in Line (349 backers pledged $16,414). Edging around cyberpunk, this project builds on the work that Robert Bohl started.
CAPER Cyber from NerdBurger Games is being developed as a Patreon. CAPERS (786 backers pledged $21,664 across two core rulebook campaigns and those core rules are a Gold best-seller on DriveThruRPG) is Craig Campbell’s award-winning RPG of superpowered gangsters during prohibition. Craig expanded the core rules with new ideas such as super spies in the 1960s, retro-future sci-fi, and more. CAPER Cyber will take CAPERS into the realm of neon and chrome, giving his system rules for hacking, cyberware, and everything else you’ll need while wearing mirrored shades. If you want to support and read the project as it’s happening, this CAPER Cyber is worthwhile.
MORE TO COME...
In the next part of this three-part series looking back at tabletop cyberpunk in 2022, I’ll talk about traditional cyberpunk releases and how they’re continuing to bring fans to tabletop.2022: The Year’s Cyberpunk Tabletop RPG Downloads Article Series:
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.
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